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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · chest · game · pitch · foot · vault · club · stem

  1. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. club — a group
  3. chest — of your body
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bark — to shout
  9. club — for golf
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. game — a match
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chest — a box
  14. game — wild animals
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. foot — a measure
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. pitch — completely

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com